


Of Arcs and Sardines

by LovableKillerWhale



Series: SCH au [1]
Category: Marvel, Original Work, SCH au
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, OCs - Freeform, Original Character(s), shitty apartments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26568253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovableKillerWhale/pseuds/LovableKillerWhale
Summary: It was no place to raise a child.SCH au (c) Mal ghcstbiteArchimedes/Bottles (c) @FlashtheArtist
Relationships: Cintia Cedra & Archimedes/Bottles
Series: SCH au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932340





	Of Arcs and Sardines

**Author's Note:**

> SCH au stands for "sona cat heroes" and it's basically the marvel universe but the characters are me and my friends' OCs and/or sonas. 
> 
> Here is a short piece I made for my chatacter Cintia Cedra and her son, Archimedes (character belongs to my friend Flash).
> 
> Please enjoy <3

Cintia groaned as she was shaken awake from her sleep. She had worked all night, staggered into her little apartment, and collapsed on the couch after locking the door. In her sleep deprived state, she couldn't be sure, so at least she  _ hoped _ she had locked the door. The neighbourhood was shady at best and dangerous at worst.

It was no place to raise a child.

"Momma," Archimedes, her two year old son, mewed and shook her paw which was hanging off of the dirty couch riddled with stitches and holes.

"What is it?" she tiredly asked, propping herself up and rubbing at her eyes with her other paw. Her naturally long fur was growing back, since she had stopped trimming it like she used to in her scientist days.

She caught sight of the old clock on the wall; the glass was cracked and more times than not it showed the wrong time. But the lack of light suggested the sun wasn't even up yet.

"It's early. I need my sleep, baby, you know that."

"But I'm hungry," Archimedes complained softly, rearing on his hind legs to reach the edge of the couch. His green eyes were huge, seemingly consuming all of the light in their dark, one-room apartment.

"I'll fix something up for you, then you'll go back to bed, alright?" Cintia told her son, and Archimedes nodded eagerly.

"I want chicken," he said excitedly when she got off the couch and made her way to the beaten fridge that buzzed at all times. They have gotten used to it.

"I'm not making chicken at five AM," Cintia proclaimed, only guessing the time, and conveniently leaving out the fact that they could barely afford to have cooked chicken.

"Then chocolate," Archimedes opted for his second favourite food.

"It's bad for your tummy," Cintia shot him down and got to the fridge. The handle had been torn off since before they had rented the apartment. It took a strong pull to get it open, which was a small mercy. Archimedes would be capable of getting himself trapped in there if he had the strength to open it.

The fridge lit up upon opening. To Cintia's horror, it was empty. She felt like needles were prickling the back of her neck; she thought she had stocked up on food a few days ago. The shops wouldn't be open until the morning, and momentarily, panic overtook her.

But then she saw it - in the corner, at the very back, a single sardine can. She reached all the way into the fridge and grabbed the small metal container. It was still up to date, thankfully.

"You're having sardines," she told Archimedes. He was waiting eagerly by her side, his fluffy tail curled around him to ward off the cold.

"Ew," he pouted and stuck out his tongue. Cintia just rolled her eyes, they didn't have the luxury to be picky eaters.

"It's either that, or you stay hungry," Cintia said, not untruthfully, and Archimedes stopped complaining. Inconvenient truths were an important lesson in a world that did its best to beat them into the ground. And Arc, her little Archimedes, with his short legs and frail body, would have it harder than most. Unless…

She shook that thought away like one of the annoying flies which were also abundant in the flat. She opened the can, poured the contents onto a ceramic plate, and put it into the microwave. She prayed, willed it to work, and to her immense relief it turned on and did its job. Just in case, she checked the cupboards, and even found a few leftover slices on bread that thankfully didn't have mould on them.

When the sardines were heated, Cintia deposited the plate on the ground, because Archimedes was too short and small to sit behind the table like she would. 

She yawned and Arc probably picked up on her foul mood because he ate his food without complaint. He nibbled at the bread and made faces when he ate the unappealing fish, but he didn't utter a word. By the time he was done, Cintia's eyelids had started to droop. She took the plate to the sink and left it there, oil and all, because she was too tired to clean it then. She'd do it in the morning…

"Can I sleep with you?" Arc asked softly, looking up at her with those big, round eyes of his.

Cintia thought about turning him down, because the old couch was lumpy and uncomfortable to sleep on, and Arc was delicate. Plus he reeked of sardine oil.

But in the end, she just sighed and nodded along.

"Come here, baby," she said as she picked him up and carried him to the couch. It creaked underneath their (mostly her) weight. She settled down with Arc sandwiched between her and the backboard of the couch. Cintia even went as far as to lock her paws around him securely, to make sure he wouldn't accidentally fall off in the night, and possibly hurt himself.

Arc sighed in content and wiggled closer to her, a slight smile on his face as he almost instantly fell asleep.

Cintia wasn't far behind, but she wasn't smiling. In fact, she was on the verge of tears.

All the bad deeds she had done, all the lives she had ruined, of aliens and freaks and monsters, it had come back to haunt her. It had landed her here, a single mother, working night shifts to sustain her and her sickly son, living in filth and poverty. She was paying the price.

But the worst part was that her Archimedes got dragged down along with her. Her baby didn't deserve that. He hadn't done anything to be punished so, but he had been suffering ever since he was born.

_ It wasn't fair. You can punish me all you want, but leave him alone. _

The fridge kept buzzing while Cintia finally drifted back to uneasy sleep.


End file.
